The Midquel: A Party And Events That Followed
by S1lver Wolf
Summary: Midquel: A word of my own design used to describe a story that comes between two in a series. This Midquel takes place in the summer after The Book Of The Third Eye and just before the sequel. During this time is Sonic's birthday, carefully planned by his own personal stalker. During and a bit after this day are a few odd and important events. Contains Sonadow, cake, and balloons.
1. Birthday Preparations

****Welcome to the Midquel! There is nothing her that really affects the entire story arc of the Third Eye series, but there are a few details that will be used and referenced later on, so... yeah. Anyway, here's the obligatory disclaimer:

**I DON'T OWN ANYTHING I DON'T OWN. SEGA OWNS** **THAT. **

Okeeday. Now, I bid thee enjoy.

* * *

**The Midquel**

**Part I:**

**Birthday Preparations**

"Hurry up, guys! I want everything to be perfect for when my Sonikku arrives!"

The Mystic Ruins was bursting with energy, almost all of it forced. In fact, to an innocent bystander, the pink figure who watched over the entire operation from the shade on the hill seemed almost like some ruthless owner of a Southern plantation, sipping lemonade and pressuring the slaves toiling in the sun below.

"Miss Amy!" A small Mobian rabbit came jogging quickly up the hill, her chao trailing not far behind and giving the occasional exclamation as they went. As it just so happens, she was also trailing about a foot of red crepe paper from one gloved fist.

"Yes, Cream?" Amy said before noticing the paper. Once she did, however, her jade eyes narrowed and her hand habitually reached into her dress pocket to grasp the currently unexpanded hammer within. "And _what _is _that_?"

The young rabbit cupped her hands and held the decoration out innocently. "This is the last of the party streamers. We're all out!" "Chao chao!" Amy could feel the frustration welling up inside her, and she had to almost physically push away the red mist beginning to cloud her vision. "I meant," she growled, "_what _is that _colour_?"

Both bunny and chao cocked their heads confusedly. "What do you mean, Miss Amy? This streamer is red..." Cream looked down at the material in question, furrowing her brow as if she wasn't sure anymore _what _colour it was. "Who was in charge of the shopping?" Amy's left fist clenched at her side as its counterpart struggled not to push the pink button that would expand her hammer. "I believe it was Mister Shadow who..."

Before the words had fully escaped from Cream's lips, Amy stormed down the hill, ignoring the heat from the sunlight and frantically scanning over the preparations. She stomped to a halt behind a two-tailed fox who was currently struggling with, (and miraculously managing not to spill), a large punch bowl. "Where is Shadow?" Tails turned at the venomous voice behind him, the artificially blue liquid in the bowl sloshing dangerously as he did so. "Shadow?" he said, muffled from behind the glass against his face. "I think I saw him over by the food..."

Amy left the kit and stamped to the snacks, ripping a length of red crepe paper off the gift table as she went. The small buffet, she saw as she arrived, was devoid not only of Shadow, but also of a certain decoration. "The ice sculpture," she said angrily to no one in particular. "where is my Sonikku's ice sculpture?"

Amy's head was buzzing, and she almost lashed out blindly when a voice spoke behind her. "I believe we agreed that it was too expensive. Especially for something that would melt in ten minutes with this heat." She spun around wildly and came face to face with Espio, his face perfectly neutral and unfazed. She leaned forward threateningly. "What do you _mean _'too expensive'? _Nothing _is 'too expensive' for _my Sonikku_!"

Suddenly, there was a loud _*bang* _off to the left, followed by arguing. Amy slowly turned her head toward the sound to see the other two members of the Chaotix detective agency, one of which, a small bee, hovered a few feet above the ground with a bag of balloons while the other, a large crocodile, yelled at him for just having popped one. The hedgehog couldn't help but notice that the balloons were a deep shade of red. She shook with pent up frustration; Espio took a step back.

"WHERE IS SHADOW THE HEDGEHOG!?"

Silence. More silence Unbearable silence. "Oh, for Chaos sake SAY SOMETHING!" she yelled exasperatedly. More silence.

* * *

_ "Happy Birthday, Shadow!" The addressed black hedgehog looked down confusedly at the object in his friend's hands, wondering what her strange greeting meant. "What?" he asked quietly, not sure if he was meant to take the bundle of laboratory papers and tape before him. The girl who had spoken widened her eyes and looked over at her grandfather, who stood in the lab's doorway. "You didn't tell him?" Gerald suddenly seemed embarrassed._

_ "Well," Maria said, brushing a strand of golden hair out of her eyes. "Shadow, today is your birthday. One year ago today was the day you were born!"_

Shadow smiled lightly as he recalled his first birthday. He remembered his confusion at the entire ritual; especially the idea of presents. His gift, (the earlier version of his current hoverskates, considerably heavier and bulkier,) was appreciated, but he never understood why living for another measurement of human time was a reason to receive material goods. As he ended up telling himself, however, (and he did this for every holiday they unorthodoxly celebrated aboard the ARK), if Maria thought it was important, then it probably was.

It was June 23rd, Sonic's birthday. The two hedgehogs had been together since the rather tremulous events late last fall, and, by the hero's request, it had remained a secret. Sure, Blaze knew, but she lived in another dimension, so it wasn't like _she_ was a liability. Anyway, despite his lack of understanding about presents, Shadow knew, (and felt), that he should get a gift for his boyfriend. He had kept an eye out for something he was out doing the forced shopping for Amy's party, but nothing had seemed quite right.

Now, his hoverskates echoing in the emptiness of Club Rouge, he was going to resort to asking for advice. He was also going to hope that he could create something convincing enough to satiate her curiosity.

Shadow went up the stairs in the back and opened Rouge's apartment door, walking in without bothering to say anything. He let the door close loudly behind him. A few moments later, the jewel thief appeared from around the corner. She had an amused look on her face, (as opposed to 'why the hell are you in my apartment'), as she pulled on one of her white gloves. "Don't you believe in knocking, hon?" Shadow leaned on the nearby wall and crossed his arms. "You know I despise hypocrites." Rouge raised an eye ridge. "Touche."

There were a few moments of silence as the bat fished through a nearby jewelry box. "I'm going to assume you're here for a reason?" She picked out a silver ring with a single transparent colourless stone set in the top and slipped it onto the middle finger of her left hand. Shadow hesitated before he said anything, nervous of what Rouge's response would be. "It's about Sonic." She smirked and admired the gem on her hand, apparently unfazed by her friend's statement. "Relationship troubles?"

Shadow forced a snarl, hoping that it was convincing, and that she was joking. "_What?_" Rouge looked up from the ring and narrowed her icy-blue eyes. "I think it's really cute that you're keeping it a secret, but you can drop the charade now. I try to keep my gossip harmless." He lowered the harsh exterior somewhat, but kept the hardness in his glare. "What? What are you getting at, Rouge?" The addressed bat smiled a little. "You know," she said, "I like to think of myself as a relationship expert, and even if you both didn't practically bleed rainbows I think it would be hard to miss."

The black hedgehog unfolded his arms and made his hands into fists at his sides. "I do _not_," he said through clenched teeth, "_bleed rainbows_." Almost drowning in the venom from his voice, Rouge put her hands out both comically and defensively. "Whoa, tiger!" she chuckled. "Let's get back to the matter at hand. What about Sonic?" Shadow re-crossed his arms and glared coldly at the floor. "It's about a present."

"Ah..." she smiled, "I get it. Don't say another word. This all starts on Christmas of last year, when you didn't get a single present for anyone. You could tell Sonic was disappointed, so you decided to make up for it by getting him something extra special for his birthday. Also, you feel like, because you're together, it has to be gift that surpasses all others. Am I getting warm?" He didn't say it, but she was pretty much spot on the entire time. He turned away and gave a light 'hmph'. "Well," she continued, "if it were me, I'd say to get me the Master Emerald, (or its stubborn guardian), but since this is Bluey we're talking about, I think this may call for something a little...different."


	2. The Celebration (Pending)

****Oof. Sorry for the unnaturally long delay. Awkward computer problems aren't fun. I'll just have to post two chapters in one day. *gasp*

On another note, I just have to say this. The worst part of a large, horrible review is that you know that person will never read your story again, (because they obviously didn't like it), so you can't yell back at them. You can't say "I'M SO GLAD MY PARENTHESES BOTHER YOU ENOUGH TO WRITE AN ENTIRE FUCKING PAGE ABOUT HOW AWFUL THEY ARE!" and expect them to hear it. Oh, well. At least it's another review.

* * *

**Part II:**

**The Celebration (Pending)**

Sonic wasn't sure what was so..._off _today. Usually running was a way to get his mind away from things, and usually it worked, but today there was something nagging at him. Something he was forgetting...

The hero hadn't seen any of his friends yet today, but that wasn't too surprising. He just figured that Tails was probably immersed in some project or another, (a test on Silver's powers, no doubt), and Shadow was most likely back at GUN. After all, he had been accepting more and more missions since the old Commander had 'mysteriously disappeared'. Even Amy, who had only gone without seeing him for a maximum of a week since they met, hadn't shown herself in a few days. He wasn't complaining about _that_, though.

The air was hot and humid, and the undergrowth threatened to trip him at every step, but Sonic didn't care. As a matter of fact, he loved the challenge. That was why he chose the jungle to run in so often; because the more he had to concentrate on not hitting trees, the less his mind could wander. It was dangerous when his mind wandered.

The blue hedgehog laughed and gave a loud whoop as he jumped up into the branches, bounding from tree to tree with a huge grin plastered onto his face. He felt the air blowing through his quills, loving the feeling of freedom and release. With one final leap, Sonic burst out of the foliage and into a clearing, the sunlight both blinding and boiling as he landed, one knee down on the soft grass, in front of the hulking shape that was the only remaining standing structure in the ancient echidna ruins.

Suddenly aware of the vast series of tunnels and chambers beneath him, (and the mysterious book within one of them), but not paying them any nevermind, Sonic smiled and laid back in the grass with his hands behind his head, closing his eyes against the sun. It was quiet save the hero's heavy breathing and the sound of birds chirping from where they had been frightened off to when the hedgehog's romp had first begun.

June 23rd. The date was June 23rd. He frowned.

But what did that mean? It seemed important, that he should remember, but he just couldn't. He hadn't made plans with anyone, and it most certainly wasn't a holiday...

"Hullo, Mister Sonic. What are you doing here?" The slow, deep voice brought Sonic out of his thoughts. He turned his head and cracked open one eye to see a large purple cat standing nearby with a fishing rod slung over his shoulder. "Hey, Big," he said, getting up slowly. "Just out for a run. How 'bout you?"

Big looked over to his left, (away from the ruins), with wide, round eyes and pointed in that direction. "I was going that way." He dropped his arm and turned back toward the hero, cocking his head when he did so. "Shouldn't you be there, too? The little rabbit said so." Now Sonic was admittedly a bit confused. Putting his hands on his hips, the hedgehog leaned his weight to his left and furrowed his brow. "Cream? What did Cream say about me being where?"

The feline just blinked blankly for a few moments, both Mobians not exactly sure what to say or why the other had said something that made so much sense to themselves and not the slightest inkling to the other. Eventually a loud sound broke the silence. It sounded like some sort of theme song the humans might have made up for their hero, and it was coming from Sonic's head quills. Said hedgehog quickly reached up to pull out a simple phone, (Tails' request and Amy's demand), mumbling about how full volume was too loud to be right next to his ears. He flipped the device open.

"This is the Sonic The Hedgehog hotline. How may I direct your call?" Sonic looked at where his nails would be if he weren't wearing gloves, playing the part to extremes and confusing Big even more. "Very funny, Sonic." Recognizing Tails' voice, he decided to take it further. "I'm sorry, but Sonic is not available right now. How about an impersonator instead?" "Hey! Role-playing exists and it's not funny!" Sonic chuckled.

Big had stopped staring at the hedgehog, and now instead directed his gaze directly ahead, looking at nothing in particular. The frog next to him ribbited now and again with very little rhyme or reason.

"All right, little buddy. What's up?" Before Tails could respond, Sonic suddenly heard a loud voice dominating the phone. It sounded like one of Amy's tirades. He tuned most of it out, but the things he did hear seemed to be connected to the colour pink, blueberries, and Shadow. The shouting got quieter after a moment, though, leading Sonic to believe that either Tails had walked away, Amy stomped off, or someone had finally had enough and knocked her unconscious.

"Sorry about that," Tails said once Amy had become fully silent. Sonic waved his hand impassively at nothing, which was something Big either didn't notice or acknowledge. "That's alright, Tails. I'm used to it. So what's up?" "Well," the fox began somewhat awkwardly, "do you think you could be over at the workshop in about ten minutes?" The hero laughed. "I can be _anywhere_ in ten minutes!" Sonic could hear Tails roll his eyes on the other end. "Right. I guess I forgot who I was dealing with. See you in ten?" "Right, buddy. Ten minutes."

They exchanged good-byes and Sonic pressed the button to hang up before stashing the phone back in his head quills. "Well, Big," he said cheerily, extending his hand and bringing the cat out of his stupor, "it was nice seein' ya, but I'm afraid I must be off!"

"Uhhhh..." Big slowly reached out and took the hedgehog's hand in his, shaking it lightly before the hero threw him a casual salute and rocketed off into the jungle. The feline shrugged before heading in the same direction, Froggy hopping not far behind.

"I specifically asked for pink and blue, Shadow. _Pink _and blue. Can you please explain  
why everything looks like it was splashed with some demented swirl of cinnamon and blueberry?!"

Just a few moments after her earlier outburst, both Shadow and Rouge had come walking up the hill, and it wasn't long before the ebony hedgehog began to receive a verbal thrashing while Rouge stood by and watched amusedly. Meanwhile, everyone else, (who were all used to Amy and knew how to shrug it off after she exploded), continued to work on the preparations.

"Red! Everything is _red_ and blue! This isn't the way it's supposed to be!" Shadow just stood casually in front of the enraged pink hedgehog, crossing his arms and glaring impassively. "I thought," he said calmly, apparently unfazed by the whole event, "that it was a little more appropriate." Rouge seemed to find that amusing, for she stifled a giggle afterwords.

"_Appropriate_?!" Amy clicked the button expanding her hammer in her hand. The yellow and red weapon glinted menacingly in the harsh sunlight, but it was such a common occurrence that no one really cared all that much. "What's _appropriate _is reality, and what's _reality _is that Sonic and I are meant to be together!"

Rouge abruptly stopped giggling, and Shadow's ruby glare hardened. The Ultimate Lifeform uncrossed his arms and took a step forward threateningly, and Amy matched him up the whole way, gripping her hammer tighter and narrowing her eyes. "I realize that there are many things you fail to understand," he said darkly, sharp canines glinting in the sun, "but I doubt that is _any _excuse for..."

"Alright, everyone!" Tails' voice cut Shadow off, the young fox unknowingly preventing something similar to a mini apocalypse. "I just called Sonic!" he announced. "He's gonna be here any minute!"

The hedgehogs exchanged one last look, (this one communicating that it wasn't over yet), before Amy walked away, shouting for everyone to get into their places.


	3. SURPRISE!

**Part III:**

**Surprise!**

Well, _this _was certainly odd. Sonic hadn't even reached Tails' workshop before he was stopped by some very unusual things in the clearing at the foot of the hill it sat on. There were numerous tables, all decorated in blue and red. Set upon one of the larger ones was an array of food, among which was a veritable mountain of chili dogs. Several others had chairs set around them, one in particular was lined with colourfully wrapped presents, and all of them had balloons haphazardly tied to the legs.

The date was June 23rd. _Wait a minute..._

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SONIC!" Suddenly the door of the workshop flew open, and friends of Sonic's came pouring out in throngs. First in line was Amy, running full blast towards him. He calmly stepped aside at the last moment, letting her shoot past.

Next was Tails, followed closely by Cream, both of whom stopped in front of him, the rabbit holding out a band of blue flowers. "This is my present, Mister Sonic!" He took it and slipped it onto his right wrist, grinning and giving a cheery 'Thanks!'. Cheese flew up and landed on his head, bringing a chuckle to the hero.

Looking past the youngsters, Sonic saw the rest of the guests. On their way down were all three members of Team Chaotix, the youngest of which was holding a red balloon and buzzing around excitedly. Behind them was Rouge, who was currently ignoring Knuckles, evidently fired up about something and deciding to take it out on her with a pointless and self-fed argument. Still near the door was Silver, completely immersed in a large slice of chocolate cake and loving every bite. Cream's mother, Vanilla, stood in the doorway with a kind smile.

Sonic frowned as he noticed a missing person, and he squinted his eyes, scanning over the procession once more, hoping he had just not seen him before. Sure enough, he found him leaning against the side of the building with his arms crossed, black fur almost completely blending into the shadows. Sonic threw his boyfriend a huge grin, Shadow giving a small smile.

"_Sonikku_..." The voice was dripping with malice, and it gave Sonic the shivers when he heard it behind him. Cheese flew back down and cowered behind Cream. Suddenly there was a pair of arms around his waist from behind, gripping him for what seemed like dear life. "You're so _mean,_ Sonikku!" Amy shrieked, burying her face in his back quills in a way only another hedgehog could do without shredding her eyes out. "But I'll forgive you if you do something for me..."

Sonic cringed, and Tails gave him a small smile accompanied by a nervous laugh. "Yeah, Amy...?" She released him and walked around, cutting in front of both Tails and Cream. Her eyelashes fluttered in a cruel mockery of demure. "Will you go on a date with me?"

The hero grinned. "Hey, look," he said, subtly glancing over Amy's head. "There's Knux!" Sonic zipped around his self-declared girlfriend, (a delusion conflicted by several important details), and straight over to Knuckles and Rouge, ignoring the irritated and squealing pink hedgehog he left behind.

"And if you weren't so...so...so _difficult_," the fuming echidna spouted, "then _maybe _you would be able to see that!" Rouge was impassively observing a white gemstone on her left hand as she ignored Knuckles. "Hey, Rouge!" Sonic said as he approached. "What's Knux all fired up about?" The thief shrugged and smirked. "I don't know. I stopped listening ten minutes ago." Knuckles stood with his mouth agape for a moment before looking away irritatedly and balling his fists at his sides. "Anyway," Rouge continued, "happy birthday, Sonic!"

The hero smiled, hiding the fact that he had forgotten about it himself until a few minutes previous, and threw her a 'Thanks!'. Rouge glanced over her shoulder before leaning in with a smirk on her face. "Don't be disappointed if Shadow doesn't have a gift right now," she said quietly enough for Knuckles not to hear. "Trust me, you'll get it later." She winked before sauntering off, Knuckles following, apparently intent on winning their pointless argument. Sonic blinked blankly.

_Did she just...? Wait... Does that mean she...? What? What _was_ that? Wait a minute!_ "Hey! Wait a min..."

He was stopped in his call by a sudden squeaky sound just behind his head.

"Cut it out, Charmy! You're gonna pop it!"

"Not to mention the fact that it's obnoxious..."

"Aww, come on, guys! You're no fun!"

"And stop whining!"

"I think you forgot why we came over here, Vector."

"Nah, I didn't forget. Charmy, say it."

"But I thought you told me to stop talking!"

"Forget what I said and do what I say!"

"And there's a difference between whining and talking..."

"Happy birthday, Sonic!"

Sonic, who had by now temporarily forgotten about Rouge and was grinning at the voices behind him, now turned around to see the Chaotix detective agency, looking almost like a strange family photo.

On the left was Espio, with crossed arms and a shuriken casually held between the first and middle fingers of his right hand, the metal glimmering in the hot sun.

To the right stood Vector, who was shooting an irritated look at Charmy. His headphones were around his neck, the exposed speakers of which could be heard faintly playing a guitar solo.

Lastly, the youngest and unarguably most squeaky member of Team Chaotix buzzed above both their heads. Charmy was the only one to smile for the camera, even though he looked as if he was very much resisting running his fingers along the side of the balloon he held to create the sharp noise Sonic heard earlier.

The blue hero smiled, and was about to toss Charmy yet another 'Thanks!' when he was cut off by an unwelcome voice. "Sonikku!" The peach arms again made a vice grip around his waist, quickly becoming much more irritating than amusing.

"Amy..."

"You are so ungrateful, Sonikku!"

"Amy..."

"And after I went through all of this for you, you..."

"Amy."

"...still won't go on a date with me!"

"Amy, get off me!"

There was a moment of awkward silence, (within which the different members of Team Chaotix did things to either ignore the situation or suppress poorly timed laughter), before the arms around Sonic's waist hesitantly loosened. "Thank you." This was directed not at the girl behind, but rather at the trio in front of him. It did not, however, come out this way, therefore instantly making the silence after even more awkward than the one before. _Dammit, Amy..._

Fortunately Sonic was spared from his situation, albeit by something quite strange.


	4. The Unexpected Gifts

Ummm... Oops. I actually didn't mean to make that last one a cliffhanger... Kind of a big mistake to make... But it's ok, cuz it works. So yeah.

* * *

**Part IV:**

**The Unexpected Gifts**

"Enough with the blabbering, Egghead."

"It is _not _blabbering! It is the product of an intelligent mind!"

Ivo covered the microphone with one fleshy hand. "Damn that hedgehog! I swear if it wasn't his birthday I would self-destruct this auto-egg right now. Quite a waste of a good machine, but if it worked, then..."

"This is what I'm talkin' about, Eggman. I can't hear ya, but I can tell you're babbling."

Ivo removed his hand and looked back at the view-screen in front of him, through which a wall-eyed, version of his nemesis could be seen tapping one red-shoed foot. "Hey," Sonic said, poking the camera lens. "Hurry up and say what you're gonna say before I trash this bot."

"Patience is a virtue, hedgehog. Now open the auto-egg's storage compartment. It's on the right."

Sonic raised his eyebrows skeptically. After a warning from Tails in the background and a blatant disregard of safety from the hero himself, Ivo saw the notice on an adjacent computer screen that the probe's cargo had been unloaded.

_There. That's my good deed for the decade._

"Chao chao!"

"You're right, Cheese. It _does _look like a Chaos Emerald!"

Indeed, Cheese was correct. The object that Sonic had just pulled out of Eggman's probe thingy was the exact size and shape of a Chaos Emerald. No one present remembered a time when there was ever a _brown _emerald, however. Sonic turned back to Eggman's device, but already it was zooming out over the ocean. "Tails," he said, holding out the dark gem, "take a look at this, will ya?"

Tails took the object and scrutinized it closely. "This isn't a Chaos Emerald." The fox tapped the jewel's surface. "It's not even one of Eggman's fake emeralds. It gives off no energies at all, but I'm sure you noticed that." Tails suddenly got a firm grip on the false emerald and threw it hard and fast at the ground.

The gem shattered, causing everyone present to jump back and gasp; including Silver, who was sent coughing and sputtering over his last bite of chocolate cake. Naturally, instead of showing concern, Amy gave a glare that communicated simply: _'I hope that's not my Sonikku's cake...'_

Anyway, once Silver's coughing fit was out of the way, Sonic turned to Tails, more concerned his little bro had gone off his rocker than angry. "What was with that, Tails?" The genius shrugged. "It was hollow. And the weight was off."

"Normally," Rouge said, bending down to pick something out of the shards of shining shrapnel, "I wouldn't condone the shattering of a possibly precious gem, but I think Foxboy made the right move here." She held the data chip out to Sonic, dropping it into his open palm.

_Greetings, hedgehog. I suppose it is expected on one's birthday that their friends wish them a good year with a gift. I hardly consider myself your friend. In fact the very notion disgusts me. However, being a supergenius, I can consider myself above such laws, which were created by people I plan to control one day, anyway. Now, as to the gift I have decided to give to you. As long-term nemeses, I know that you would find no use in any material object other than a Chaos Emerald. I have my own plans with the Chaos Emeralds, however, so I will not be relinquishing any of those for something as simple as a birthday. Instead, I will give you three pieces of information. Tidbits, if you will._

_ Firstly, I will tell you about one of your 'friends', since you value them so highly. I know that since the last incident with Metal Sonic there has been some significant confusion about Shadow's identity. It is known that I created androids based on my grandfather's creation. These were _androids_. _Machines. _Last I checked, machines to not breathe. They do not require nutrition or sleep, and they do not bleed. It should be no surprise to anyone with common sense that the Shadow you know is indeed the original, who helped defeat the BioLizard and miraculously survived the fall to Mobius._

_ Next I will provide the answer to a personal mystery of your own, Sonic. You and your fox companion may remember that when we first became rivals, you were incapable of speech. Not only that, but your eyes were also black, no? Believe it or not, but I have researched this. The time when your voice developed and your eyes changed was also when you began regularly using the Chaos Emeralds and becoming 'Super Sonic'. Your two-tailed friend has probably already discovered this, (if he hasn't, then I am actually disappointed), but I found that it is in fact your exposure to Chaos Energy that changed these things._

_ Now, I am sure you are wondering why I recorded this message in the first place. Let's just say that you aren't the only person who has a birthday today._

_Later, in Shadow's apartment..._

"Well _that _was an interesting day."

Sonic plopped down heavily on the couch, consciously ignoring the purple lamp in the corner. Shadow locked the door, hesitating for a moment before turning around. He crossed his arms and set his gaze firmly on the ground. "I didn't even remember it was my birthday at first, y'know? Eighteen.

I'm eighteen now. What is it that's legal for me now? Alcohol's 21. That's not all that exciting, though. I can buy tobacco and rat poison death sticks. Let's see, what else..."

The blue hedgehog jumped up and pointed sharply at Shadow, who looked up inquisitively. "That means you wouldn't be a rapist if we had sex!" _Chaos. He's so blunt._ "Sonic," Shadow said, putting a hand to his forehead, "these walls are not completely soundproof." Sonic lowered his voice, but the sudden odd excitement didn't dissipate. "But it's true! You've been around more than fifty years, and until today I was a minor!"

Something about this whole situation was vaguely amusing to Shadow, (him having a dry, dark, and mirthless sense of humor), and he actually had to resist smirking. "Faker. You know full well what my situation is. I _am _a little over fifty years old if you go completely by the calendar. As of four days ago, I have only been conscious for eleven." Sonic's eyes widened. "So _I'm _the rapist!?"

Shadow was actually on the verge of chuckling now. "Sonic. As far as I am concerned, I am nineteen. Now calm down before my neighbors hear something."

A few minutes later, after Sonic had recovered from his unorthodox realizations that only made half a bit of sense, the two hedgehogs found themselves together on the couch. After this, the subject of gifts arose. Shadow, after a moment of awkwardness, decided to give his boyfriend his present. Sonic did not return to his own house that night.


	5. Sonic Becomes Aware Of Knux's Awareness

**Part V:**

**Sonic Becomes Aware Of Knuckles' Awareness**

"I love Shadow The Hedgehog!"

It was something he shouted completely on impulse, bursting from a sudden need to confess to anything anywhere. It was a rural area, but his recognizable cocky voice still echoed for miles in every direction. A pleasing feeling of pure release brought a grin to his face, but it went away as soon as it came, popped like a balloon by an unwelcome voice behind him.

"I probably should walk away silently now, but I don't think I will."

_Damn... _Knuckles was probably the last person, (other than Amy, who most likely would have imbedded her hammer in his skull by now), he had wanted to hear his confession. _Well, at least he'd be the last to tell anyone... _He decided to act as if nothing had happened.

"Hey, Knux!" He turned and gave his signature thumbs up, but, despite current events, Knuckles just looked increasingly bored. "Are you going to explain, or do I have to kill you?" It had long since stopped making him unsettled when the echidna made death threats with such a straight face, so he just chuckled lightly. "Ha! As if you could!" Knuckles still failed to look amused. "Don't tempt me, Sonic. Explain."

The hero of Mobius was only fidgety once it a blue moon, and it seemed like the orb rising on the horizon had a tint of azure to it. "Heh. You heard that, huh?" The guardian remained straight-faced. "Sonic, my ancestors heard that." The thought of Tikal possibly hearing his confession gave Sonic the shivers.

Knuckles' violet irises pierced him in a harsh glare. "Don't make me have to throw you off that cliff you're standing on the edge of." A few more moments of awkward silence passed before the guardian gave a gruff sigh. "Okay. You can start by telling me when it started." _Of all the people to have a heart-to-heart with..._

"Well," Sonic began, "you remember that fight against the BioLizard?"

"So, from first sight, then?"

"Pretty much. Yeah."

"Yup. Figured. Can I tell you a secret?"

"You're in love with Rouge?"

Sonic wasn't sure how it was possible, but suddenly the scarlet echidna got even more red. "What the... I'm gonna kill you, hedgehog!" Sonic just crossed his arms and grinned. "Yep! It's pretty obvious..."

Knuckles just pointed, opening and closing his mouth like an asthmatic fish in Death Valley. It took a moment before he could speak again. "I've decided to ignore that.

"No, what I was _going _to say before you interrupted was that I already knew." Now it was the hedgehog's turn to work his jaw. "How...?" Knuckles crossed his arms and smirked. "You haven't told anyone, have you?" he asked.

_I _haven't _told anyone... Unless... Did Blaze tell him? No. Why would she? Who else... Wait. Didn't Rouge say something about it at my birthday? Or did I just imagine it?_

"Rouge told you, didn't she?"

"That didn't take long."

"When?"

"What?"

"When?"

"When what?"

"When did she tell you!?"

"A couple weeks ago. At your birthday."

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"Your conversation skills are really low, Knux. Why did she tell you?"

"Who?"

"Rouge!"

"What about her?"

"Oh, forget it!"

Sonic was panting in frustration and pressing his fingertips to his temple, though that was purely for emphasis. "You know," he said tiredly, "usually this would be the other way around..."

Knuckles looked moderately confused for a moment before he shook it off and turned around. "This is a waste of time," he muttered flatly. "I need to get back to the Master Emerald." He took a few steps, but stopped when Sonic spoke again. "You haven't told anyone, have you?" Knuckles glanced over his shoulder. "As if I would."

_Well _that _was interesting... Let's just hope no one else was around..._


	6. The Uneasy, The Unruffled, & The Unknown

**Part VI:**

**The Uneasy, The Unruffled, And The Unknown**

"Well, it's just the fact that the only people who know found out on accident."

"And why must I be present?"

"Stop being antisocial, Shads."

It was almost noon, the sun overhead heating the air to a comfortable temperature for early September. Two hedgehogs, one with red-streaked arms crossed and irritation present in his scowl, while the other, noticeably nervous, tried to gather up the wits to knock on the door in front of them, stood together outside Miles "Tails" Prower's workshop/house. They had been there stalling for five minutes already.

_Why is it such a big deal? It's only Tails. He would be the last to criticize anyone for being different. After all, I did always try to model that. Ugh. I'm like his big bro. This is just kinda awkward._

"How 'bout you knock?"

"We've been over this, Faker. I don't want to be here in the first place. Therefore, you will be the one knocking."

Sonic raised a fist halfheartedly, stopped about two inches from the door, then let it fall to the wood, making very little sound. _I just have to do it. Three quick knocks._ And so he did knock three quick knocks at near supersonic speed.

~30 Minutes Later~

"Sonic, you've been here for half an hour now. I'm still not sure why Shadow is here with you, and I've never seen you so jumpy where there isn't a large body of water. It's making me nervous."

He shivered at the mention of water. "Ah, I'm okay, Tails. I'm just kinda..." A crow cawed outside, sending Sonic across the room in less than a second, where he leaned casually against the wall to feign normality. "I'm not jumpy." Shadow leaned back on the couch, closing his eyes and putting his hands behind his head.

"You're a horrible liar," Tails said, obviously suppressing a chuckle. "What's up, Sonic?" The addressed hedgehog began awkwardly pacing around the room. "Well," he began, not sure if he should change the subject, drop subtle hints, shout it out, run away, or just dart right over and smooch Shadow right then and there, "there's something I need to... Hey, look. Something out the window!"

Shadow glared at Sonic. "Just say it, Faker." Tails looked from one hedgehog to the other confusedly. Sonic tried to speak, but it came out sounding less like words and more like the rasp of a washboard. "W-well," he said after clearing his throat nervously, "there's this... Sometimes in life there's a... Life has twists and turns and..." He saw Shadow raise his eyebrows in light amusement and Tails furrow his in concern. The words bubbled in Sonic's stomach. "I... uh..." _CONFESS! _"I'm..." Tails cocked his head slowly. "I'm just..." Shadow gave a light smirk. "Oh, for Chaos' sake!" Sonic threw his arms in the air. "Tails, I'm gay!"

Now, of the reactions that followed, only one was worthy of the buildup Sonic had given to his eventual overly loud confession. There was Shadow's, a dark suppressed chuckle. Then there was Tails', which consisted simply of shock from being yelled at followed by a small, indefinable smile. The final reaction, which came from the kitchen, began with the cacophonous crash of a breaking dish. It was a few moments after when Silver rushed into the room with wide eyes and a blank expression. "You," he whispered, pointing directly at Sonic. "Did you just say what I think you said?"

Sonic was debating whether to laugh, run out, glare, or simply nod. In the end he remained completely emotionless as the words repeated themselves. "I'm gay." Silver slowly smiled. "This is awesome!" _What?_ "Do you know what this means for the gay community?" By now, Sonic's confession seemed like the distant past. Everyone stared at Silver like he had just juggled two babies and a chainsaw. "I'm serious! The hero of Mobius, savior of multiple dimensions, who has been given awards by the president countless times, is gay! I don't know how this could get any better!"

"Actually," Shadow said calmly, more amused than confused, "I know how it could. I am gay as well." Tails looked completely confused and bombarded with information. Sonic's head was buzzing. "Oh my god. You too?" Silver was giddy as a schoolgirl now. "This is great! Sonic and Shadow, protectors of Mobius and genuine homos!"

"Okay!" Sonic shouted, causing instant silence. "Excuse my language, but Silver, what the _fuck _is up with you?" Silver stared at him before shrugging. "What? It's a big deal." Sonic shook his head. "To who? What, are you gay, too?" It wasn't meant to be serious, but Silver's blush and uneasy chuckle confirmed that maybe it shouldn't be taken as a joke.

"Oh, for Chaos' sake!" Tails shouted at the ceiling, hands on his temples. "Are _all _hedgehogs attracted to men?!" Silence. "Seriously! I mean, I had my suspicions about Sonic, so that wasn't really a surprise, but _Shadow_? And you too, Silver?! I have no problem at all with it, but why is it all three of you are telling me at once?! Augh! I just need time to process this." He sat back down with a shell-shocked look plastered on his face, tails twitching back and forth.

The three hedgehogs exchanged looks in the silence. Silver blinked back and forth with wide eyes, apparently formulating something in his head. Slowly he pointed at Shadow. "Wait..." he said, waggling his finger. "I think I get it now. You're here with Sonic because you're..." Shadow just nodded. The psychokinetic clapped his hands together. "Well. This just keeps getting better and better." Tails looked over at Silver. "What, have you been an activist from the closet this whole time?" He chuckled. "I'm not in the closet. You just never asked."


End file.
